"I can't believe it's been 10 years," says Elaine Poirier.
The Battleford Memorial Garden, a Communities in Bloom project in partnership with the Town of Battleford, was established a decade ago.
With funding from the CiB program, an otherwise unsellable lot donated by the Town, and a good deal of volunteer labour and community sponsorship, the Battleford Memorial Garden became a reality. It is now in the business of blooming on the 100 block of 15th Street in Battleford.
Poirier, a charter member of the Battleford CiB, says when the program was started, each member was asked to come up with an idea for a project. A memorial rose garden had always been a dream of hers.
So a fence went up, a weeping watering system was installed, soil was brought in from Poirier's farm (because Battleford's sand grows very little) and a design was plotted. By 2014, planting had started in earnest.
The design, by Judy Bishop, centres on four separate beds, each devoted to one colour of roses, white, red, pink and yellow. Along the walkways, granite memorial bricks can be found interspersed among the edging bricks. Most are names of folks who have passed on, but not all. Some have purchased bricks for themselves or family members who want to be remembered, but who are still with us. Throughout the beds are four types of thyme used as a ground cover, rather than mulch. Using a living ground cover helps discourage weeds and requires less maintenance than mulch.
Now that the garden is established, the ongoing care falls mainly to Elaine and her husband Henri, who have moved from their Prongua area farm to a condo in North Battleford.
Their grandchildren often help out as well. In fact, their granddaughter planted the tulips that are the garden's first sign of colour every season. They have to apply a deer repellent, as the hungry creatures come up 15th Street from the river valley looking for new growth in the spring.
Every spring sees a clean-up work bee with volunteers and help from the Town of Battleford staff. But as the summer wears on, the Poiriers take care of most of the weeding, planting and general maintenance of the plants. Henri also takes care of jobs such as making stakes naming the plants.
Along the walkways are memorial bricks of inscribed granite installed once or twice a year. They are purchased through the Town of Battleford and ordered from Rose City Memorials of Cut Knife, who donated the garden's sign made from a salvaged piece of granite.
There are about 40 types of roses in the Memorial Garden. This deep red rose is named after famous Canadian artist Emily Carr. It is one of four in a series of roses named after Canadian artists. Also to be found in the garden are a pink rose named after singer-songwriter Felix Leclerc and a gold-coloured rose named for multi-media artist Bill Reid. The fourth in the series is the yellow and red Campfire, named in honour of a famous painting by Tom Thomson.
In addition to roses, there is a wide variety of plants to be enjoyed. The lily population of the garden is in full bloom. The chain link fence supports a green backdrop of hops.
A portion of the Memorial Rose Garden is devoted to native plants, such as the drought tolerant Prairie Coneflower. There is also a bed featuring the Saskatchewan floral emblem, the Western Red Lily, provided by SaskPower's Shand Greenhouse. They have finished blooming for this year. This area of the garden was established with funding from a group that is also interested in improving the Battleford cemetery.
Delphiniums of many shades can be found throughout the Memorial Rose Garden, always a favourite partnership with roses in short-season growing areas.
A hardy clematis named Polish Spirit and one of several Adelaide Hoodless roses greet visitors to the Memorial Rose Garden. They decorate an arbor, which holds plaques thanking sponsors and a box holding forms for those who would like to have a memorial brick placed. The form can be taken to Town Hall where the fee will be collected and the order placed.
The garden is always open, and Poirier says it's often enjoyed by children as well as adults.
